A stack based buffer overflow bug was found in the way gaim processes a message containing a URL. A remote attacker could send a carefully crafted message resulting in the execution of arbitrary code on a victim's machine. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2005-1261 to this issue.

A bug in the way Gaim processes SNAC packets was discovered. It is possible that a remote attacker could send a specially crafted SNAC packet to a Gaim client, causing the client to stop responding. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2005-0472to this issue.

Users of Gaim are advised to upgrade to this updated package which contains gaim version 0.59.9 with backported patches to correct these issues.

4. Solution:

Before applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied.

This update is available via Red Hat Network. To use Red Hat Network, launch the Red Hat Update Agent with the following command:

up2date

This will start an interactive process that will result in the appropriate RPMs being upgraded on your system.